One Fourth Cream
by Syana Harper
Summary: A Navy Officer has been murdered and his sister works for NCIS. She also has a quirk about how she has her coffee...
1. Chapter 1

NCIS

The new intern grabbed absently for her coffee; black with ¼ cup cream. Finding the cup, Rhiana took a drink and instantly knew there was something different. Almost gagging at the sudden difference, she set down the foam cup and looked across the table, instantly regretting her absentminded guess-and-grab for her coffee.

"Special Agent Gibbs!" she gasped and saw her coffee in his hand. "I'm sorry; I was reading the newspaper..."

"It's fine, Agent Stoller." Gibbs switched the foam cups around, correcting the small issue.

"But your coffee..."

"It's fine." The end argument was far from over. Grabbing her purse, Rhiana placed three dollars on the table and quickly stood, grabbed her coffee and newspaper, and departed from the picnic area outside the main building. Gibbs merely stared at the fluttering money when Tony skipped to a halt beside him.

"Boss, we've got a case," Tony said and saw the paper money being folded in half, quarters, and placed in Gibbs' wallet.

"Then let's go." Jethro snagged his coffee before anyone else had the same idea.

----

Exiting the elevator, Gibbs saw McGee and Ziva scouring over the flat screen. "What have...?" Tony started when Jethro gave him a sideways glance that let Tony know his job as Special Agent in Charge was over. Setting his coffee down, Gibbs joined the other two in front of the screen.

"What have we got?" he finally asked and Ziva started talking.

"Chief Petty Officer Ben Stoller. He was found dead beside his vehicle early this morning by a truck driver. They expected foul play when they found tire tracks leading back onto the road about a quarter of a mile away," Ziva explained and Gibbs hated asking the next question, but didn't show it.

"Any family?"

"Special Agent Rhiana Stoller, she works here as a computer networking intern. They transferred her here from Quantico."

"There you go, McGeek, someone to share interests with."

"DiNozzo..." Gibbs warned as McGee switched to the crime scene photos. As the images slipped by, Gibbs thought of the three dollars he had burning a hole in his wallet.

----

"Agent Stoller?" Tim asked and the petite girl looked up from her newspaper; she was on break but decided to spend it in the basement with the computers.

"Yes?" she asked and raised a sleek eyebrow at Tim.

"There's been an accident. We're sorry to say that your brother..." he didn't get to finish when Rhiana's eyes welled to the spilling point; this was the last thing he needed.

"Ben was murdered, wasn't he?" she asked quietly, letting the newspaper droop.

"How did you know?" Tim asked and saw the same report on the screen in front of her as what was on the flat screen.

"I browse for his name every now and again. Suddenly, this afternoon, he was listed as deceased. I thought it was an error in the system, but I guess not," she sighed and Tim swallowed, he hated do this part of the job.

"Agent Gibbs wants to talk to you in the Director's office..."

"Aw, _crap_. He's going to give back that three dollars, isn't he?" she asked and crumpled the newspaper slightly.

"_What_ three dollars?"

"I accidentally took a drink from his coffee." Rhiana made a face and Tim half-smiled.

"I wouldn't worry about it," he said and Rhiana smiled, but it soon formed a pout, eyes glancing back at the screen to her brother's file. Sighing, Rhiana gathered her cup of coffee, the newspaper, and her laptop before following McGee into the elevators.

----

Jethro sat patiently in Director Vance's office, waiting on Tim to convince Rhiana to pay the Director a visit. There was a knock on the door and the two men shot a glance towards the doorknob as it began to turn. McGee entered first, Rhiana following closely; she was carrying a lot of stuff.

"Help her out, McGee!" Gibbs ordered and Tim jumped as Rhiana startled as well, almost dropping her laptop, but managing to keep a hold on her coffee. Tim gently pried the laptop away from Rhiana's hands and set it on the table beside him; the newspaper was the next to be set down, but Rhiana kept a strong hold on her coffee, not letting it out of her hand.

"Special Agent Stoller, I'm sorry to hear about your loss," Director Vance said and Rhiana nodded.

"Ben was a great guy, I don't know of any reason why someone would want to kill him," she whispered and sat down in one of the chairs that sat across from Gibbs and the director; Tim politely excused himself and left the three to talk.

----

"Psst, McGeek," Tony whispered to him as Tim walked briskly down the stairs to sit at his station.

"Drop it, Tony. It's very serious that they're talking to Rhiana. She might lose her internship and be shipped back to Quantico," Tim said and Tony flicked a piece of paper at his teammate. Tim reacted angrily, but Ziva spoke first.

"Do you _honestly_ have anything better to do?" she asked and leaned against Tony's desk, a defensive nature buzzed about her.

"Not really, Agent _David_," Tony shot back and Ziva snatched a piece of paper from his desk, creating havoc as she kept the unbeknownst unimportant paper away from Tony.


	2. Chapter 2

NCIS

"Agent Stoller…" the director started when Rhiana stopped him with a raised hand.

"Please, call me Rhiana," she requested and the director recomposed himself before continuing.

"Your brother, Chief Petty Officer Ben Stoller, was murdered early this morning, apparently on his way to work. Do you know of anyone that would want to hurt you or your family?" he asked and Rhiana thought about it for a moment.

"Not that I'm aware of, Director. My parents live in New York. They were slightly apprehensive when their two children _both_ went into special branches of the military. Ben wanted to help people, so he went into the Navy. I loved computers, so I went to Quantico," Rhiana explained as she took a sip from her coffee cup. "He's been at it longer than I have, though. He's 5 years older than I am," Rhiana said and looked over at Gibbs, who was concentrated on the director.

"So, you have no idea what your brother has been up to lately?" Director Vance asked and Rhiana shook her head.

"I would get random e-mails now and again, but they just had basic stuff, like 'Tell mom I said hi' or 'I miss you, take care'; I never could make any sense out of it. He was being really distant, I'll surrender my laptop if that will help anything," she offered and the director nodded.

"Agent Gibbs, this is under your jurisdiction. Agent Stoller, your involvement in this case is minimal," the director finalized and Rhiana nodded, understanding completely.

"Look but don't touch, right?" she asked and Director Vance nodded. His gaze soon fell on Gibbs once again.

"You have some serious work to do, Jethro." Gibbs stood from his chair and Rhiana followed quickly, gathering her laptop and newspaper on the way out.

----

Ziva was still taunting Tony with the unimportant paper as Gibbs and Rhiana came down the stairs. McGee warned the two and Ziva surrendered the paper without another argument. Tony looked it over and glared at his teammate. "It's blank…" he grumbled and Ziva nodded as Gibbs pointed Rhiana towards Tim and the group looked confused.

"Rhiana, give your laptop to McGee and he'll extract the e-mails that your brother sent. Tell him all you know and _stay with him_. Ziva, Tony, you're with me," Gibbs ordered as the trio left the main room to be greeted by Ducky and his assistant in the elevator. Rhiana watched them go as she stared at the blank metal doors and startle again as Tim touched her arm gently, making her close her eyes, jump, and gasp lightly.

"I didn't mean to surprise you," he apologized and Rhiana smiled as she handed him her Navy insignia clad laptop.

"It's fine; I'm just nervous because of this whole mess," she admitted and pulled a chair over to Tim's station. "So, you're the computer expert-slash-grievance guy?" she asked playfully and silently watched Tim go to work.

----

"What do we have here, Mr. Stoller?" Ducky asked and removed the probe from the corpse's liver. "As a rough estimate, Chief Petty Officer Stoller died nine hours ago," Ducky announced as Jimmy Palmer snapped pictures of the body for evidence.

"Any guess to what killed him, Ducky?" Gibbs asked as he shined a flashlight into the cab of Ben's truck. Ducky carefully probed around Ben's skull.

"Blood loss."

"Seriously, Doctor?" Palmer asked and Ducky laughed.

"No, Mr. Palmer that would be incorrect, blood loss would be indicated by a further distance from his vehicle. This was probably blunt force trauma to the back of the head," Ducky said and Gibbs smirked to himself.

"Oh," Palmer said and snapped another picture of the body's position. A shout from Ziva brought Gibbs' attention to further down the road; he abandoned the truck and walked calmly towards where Ziva and Tony were positioned.

"What did you find?" Gibbs almost demanded and Tony pointed to a blood trail that led to the tire tracks.

"I'm positive that it leads back to the body," Ziva said and snapped pictures of it. Gibbs nodded and returned to the truck as an ambulance transported the body back to the lab for a closer examination; a tow truck was there to take the vehicle back to the garage. Ducky signed off with the crime scene officer for the body and Gibbs walked back to where Ziva and Tony were.

"Pack up, we're headed back to the lab," he ordered and Ziva finished taking evidence pictures.


	3. Chapter 3

NCIS

"Wow… holy cow, your laptop is amazing," Tim said and Rhiana merely smiled.

"One of my friends works for the FBI, I have her upgrade it whenever we get the chance to meet up because of her schedule," Rhiana explained and she accessed her e-mail for him. Tim went to work again and downloaded all the e-mails from her brother to his hard drive.

"That's awesome. Is this all, there aren't very many," Tim mumbled and Rhiana scoured through the list, making sure that all of the e-mails were there. Nodding, she retreated back to her seat, cradling her foam cup of coffee. Tim glanced at Rhiana every now and again, but he mostly kept his eyes on the e-mails.

"Where was he stationed when he sent these?" Tim asked, slightly confused about the IP address.

"He was onboard some ship; I'm not sure what the name was. He was supposed to be in town since last week," Rhiana said absentmindedly and Tim nodded as he confirmed what she said; the IP address matched a ship that had recently docked the week before.

"Why did he seem weird in the messages he sent?"

"Because he didn't describe as much as he used to. It's like…" Rhiana paused for a second, "it _had _been like he was hiding a lot of stuff now. He explained in the first few that his commander hadn't like the way he was describing where they were. But that's understandable," Rhiana explained and a sound notified that Rhiana had a new e-mail.

Standing, Rhiana leaned over the laptop and checked it, not even noticing her proximity to Tim was making him crazy. Her brow furrowed with concern as she read the e-mail. "Oh, _no_," she whispered and stepped away from the laptop like it was some venomous snake. Tim didn't ask questions as he scanned through the e-mail.

_Dear she-bitch,_

_Don't mess with my damn head anymore! I heard about your stupid brother and good riddance! He was only in the way because he thought he knew everything about me! Well, I guess I don't have that problem anymore._

_You KNOW Who It Is_

Tim looked back at Rhiana, who was shaking in shock; he didn't want to touch her because of her last reaction. "Rhiana, who is this," he demanded and Rhiana merely stumbled to sit in the chair she had pulled up to see what McGee had been doing.

"I-It's an old boyfriend. My brother kept pestering me to get restraining orders against him and his harassment. It was a bad decision on my end; I thought I could change him. It fell through about a month after we started dating. I thought I had all my backdoors covered, but he found a way through them. My only guess is that he got a bogus e-mail address and is using a computer at a public place. _Damn it_!" Rhiana spat and cradled her cup of coffee once more as Gibbs, Tony, and Ziva exited the elevator.

"What's his name, Rhiana?" Tim asked and that question brought the attention of the trio returning.

"Eric Mullins," Rhiana whispered and stared absently at her foam cup of coffee; black with ¼ cup cream.

----

McGee briefed Jethro on the update quietly as Rhiana listened absently to her MP3 player. "One of her old boyfriends is harassing her. He said in the e-mail that he knew about her brother's death. We traced the IP address back to an internet café about 10 miles from here. The cashier remembers him only because he was mumbling to himself. Rhiana guessed that had been his move and she doesn't want to leave the building until this has been resolved," Tim explained and Gibbs thought it over for a moment.

"What do we have on him?" he asked and McGee displayed the record on the flat screen.

"It seems our suspect has had a few brushes with the law. DUI, fleeing officers, resisting arrest, a few domestic calls; he's broken his restraining orders before and has been charged with premeditated attempted murder," Ziva said, almost surprised at the record as Tony stepped up beside her.

"He's not a happy camper. We do have evidence that he's broken the restraining orders held against him; what do we do, boss?" Tony asked and Gibbs scowled.

"Ziva, DiNozzo, bring him in. Eric Mullins, find him and make sure he doesn't know she's _here_," he specified as Tony and Ziva entered the elevator arguing lightly and the conversation ended as the steel doors slid shut. Tim glanced at Rhiana briefly; Gibbs caught the motion and walked to McGee's station.

"You're both into techno-babble, go talk to her, McGee!" Gibbs almost growled and Tim looked up from his research into the IP addresses and Mullins' current e-mails.

"What?" he asked.

"Go _talk_ to Agent Stoller. Take her to Abby's lab, anything," Gibbs ordered and Tim stood from his desk, entering the small side room to speak with Rhiana.


	4. Chapter 4

NCIS

Touching her shoulder, Tim got the same response as before as Rhiana jerked her earbuds out.

"What now?" she asked almost angrily.

"I just wanted to know if you wanted to grab a break from all of this unwanted excitement," he wondered and Rhiana instantly smiled.

"Is that a date, Timothy McGee?"

"If you're up for a cup of coffee, then I guess so." Rhiana packed her MP3 player away and stood from the table, looping her arm gently through his. Walking out of the room, Gibbs merely smiled at McGee as the two entered the elevator and disappeared from his sight.

The day was sunny, but the two were sitting in the shade as McGee brought the cups of coffee back to their table. Handing her the foam cup, Tim smiled. "Black with ¼ cup cream," he said and Rhiana took the cup appreciatively.

"Thanks, Tim. My supply was running low when I got that _e-mail_ from Eric. My nerves couldn't take two blows in one day," she said and unfolded the newspaper she had earlier.

"I know this may sound weird, but what's with the coffee and newspaper habit?" Tim asked and Rhiana laughed behind her cup as she took a small drink.

"I blame my father. He always had his coffee and newspaper, every morning. I tried the routine once, found the coffee too bland and added some cream to it. Finally finding the right mixture that wouldn't fry my taste buds, I soon picked up the habit as I worked at Quantico," Rhiana explained and Tim smiled a lopsided smile.

"What got you into computers?" he asked and Rhiana eyed him warily.

"My FBI friend got me hooked and taught me some basic stuff about writing codes and I soon got the hang of it. That's why I work in the basement, to keep away from a major portion of the people that work here at NCIS."

"That's a nice thing for her to do," Tim said as Rhiana spotted something in the newspaper; McGee was on alert instantly. "What is it, Rhiana?" he asked and Rhiana smiled.

"_Deep Six_, I have always wanted to buy a copy of that book, but I never could get around to purchasing it. My friends say it's great, the way the murders sound so real. They've tried to buy me an autographed copy, but I wouldn't let them. Have you ever read them?" Rhiana asked and McGee merely smiled.

"Of course; I can get you a copy, if you want," Tim said and Rhiana held up a hand.

"I refuse to accept things that need money to be bought."

"Free of charge _and_ autographed," McGee offered and Rhiana nearly choked on her coffee. Looking bewildered at McGee, Rhiana swallowed calmly and gave him a sideways glance.

"How, those autographed books are insanely high." Rhiana still wasn't buying it that McGee could get her an autographed book; oblivious to the fact he was the author.

"Sure, I know the author; he's a good friend of mine. He has a few copies lying about, I'm sure he wouldn't miss one," McGee said and smiled; Rhiana returned the gesture.

"Thanks, Tim," Rhiana said and heard a buzzing sound. McGee reached into his pocket and retrieved the beeper.

"We have to go. They brought your ex-boyfriend in for questioning," McGee said and instantly regretted it; the expression on Rhiana's face was unbearable as she remembered why she had gotten restraining orders.

----

Eric Mullins sat in the interrogation room, waiting to be drilled for questions; this wasn't anything new to him, he had gotten worse at the local police stations. He saw the reflective glass and glared at it, knowing that Rhiana might be behind it, mocking him. The door opened and a man stepped through, shutting the door behind him. "Did Rhiana put you up to this?" Eric demanded and the man slammed a file down on the table in front of him.

"You broke your restraining order, Eric. We have proof of that. Do you want me to read it to you?" Gibbs asked and Eric snorted.

"That stupid e-mail I sent?"

"So you admit it?"

"I never broke a restraining order; it didn't say anything about sending her e-mails."

"I guess you didn't read the fine print. It clearly says that if you approach or harass Rhiana Leah Stoller in any way, shape, or form, you can be put in jail up to 180 days or a $1000 fine," Gibbs said and reviewed the restraining order. Eric crossed him arms, huffing and fuming at the information that was presented to him.

"No, I guess I _didn't _read the fine print," Eric spat and Gibbs glared at him.

"How did you know about her brother?"

"Heard it around town; word spreads fast when it deals with the military," Eric grumbled and Gibbs circled like a dangerous animal, evaluating its prey.

"That it does," Gibbs admitted and sat down across from Eric. "Who told you about Chief Petty Officer Stoller's death?"

"I heard it in a bar this morning. Some guys were talking about it pretty openly. They had heard it from some other guy. The next thing I did was sent that stupid e-mail," Eric grumbled and Gibbs smirked.

"You still broke your restraining order," Gibbs said and two police officers entered the interrogation room as Jethro left.


	5. Chapter 5

NCIS

Rhiana swirled gently in her seat as she saw Eric exit the elevator. The side-to-side motion stopped abruptly as she tried to determine whether he was a threat. Spying that his hands were cuffed behind him, Rhiana relaxed only slightly as Eric glared at her from across the room. He didn't stop the glare until the elevator doors shut him from Rhiana's view.

Breathing a sigh, she only jumped slightly when McGee touched her shoulder. "Hey, Abby's found something in the evidence that Ducky sent her; I think you'll like her," Tim said and Rhiana smiled as she, Tim, and Gibbs headed down in the elevator to get off at Abby's floor. Rock music assaulted Rhiana's ears for a brief moment and then she recognized the tune.

"Hey, that's from Resident Evil!" Rhiana said and Abby turned at the mention of the song. She spotted Rhiana between Gibbs and McGee, her jealousy almost ruining the moment as the three entered the lab.

"What have you got, Abs?" Gibbs asked and Abby instantly turned back towards her computers.

"Well, the blood that was taken from the crime scene matches the victim, but I also found something else," Abby said and brought up a view of a blood slide. "It's not human, so I'm guessing an animal of some sort. But what kind I can't figure out because we don't have a database for animal DNA or blood types and the markers…"

"Translation, Abby," Gibbs said quickly and the Goth smiled.

"It means there's another witness to our murder," she said and looked at Rhiana again. "Who's this, McGee?" she asked, jealousy only tinting her voice this time.

"This is Agent Rhiana Stoller; her older brother is the victim," Tim explained and Abby hugged Rhiana suddenly.

"I'm so sorry about that. I'm going to figure out what this blood is, very hard!" Rhiana thought for a second and pushed Abby away gently.

"Thanks for the hug, but I think I know who's blood that is," Rhiana said and pointed towards the screen. Everyone looked at her, waiting for Rhiana to spit out the information that they desperately needed.

"Well…?" Abby asked and that broke Rhiana from her concentration.

"My brother had a Beagle named Toby. They were never apart from each other for more than a few minutes. There's a guarantee that Toby protected Ben when he was attacked," Rhiana said and Gibbs turned swiftly to exit the room. McGee followed, but Rhiana stayed with Abby in the lab.

----

"Boss, we need to find that dog. If he bit the murderer, we could find who did it," McGee said and Gibbs looked at Tony and Ziva; the two weren't busy.

"Tony, you're going out," Gibbs ordered and Tony stood.

"What am I looking for, boss?" he asked and grabbed his pack.

"A Beagle named Toby. Go back to the crime scene with McGee and find that dog. He'll probably be dead," Gibbs said and the two looked at each other as Ziva smiled at the rhyming named between Tony and Toby.

McGee and Tony entered the elevator and Tony looked at Tim almost threateningly. "What's with Agent Stoller, McGeek, did you find a new love interest?" DiNozzo asked and Tim glared back at him.

"She's an asset, Tony. Rhiana…"

"Oh, a first name basis. Sure it's not a love interest?"

"_Rhiana_… had her brother murdered, I doubt _love_ is going to be on her mind at the moment. We have some things to take care of, Tony, you can pick on me later," McGee grumbled and Tony shrugged. They entered the garage, got in a SUV, and took off towards the crime scene.


	6. Chapter 6

NCIS

"So, you were listening to music from Resident Evil when I came in, right?" Rhiana asked as she swiveled in a different chair as Abby worked quickly.

"Hey, that's right. You're into that sort of stuff?" Abby asked and looked under the microscope again.

"I've always been the odd sort of person in the family. My brother was the normal one. I was into rock music, horror movies, and tattoos. I noticed you have a few," Rhiana observed and Abby smiled.

"Yup, I've got _quite_ a few, actually," Abby laughed and Rhiana pulled down her shirt to reveal a vine of butterflies across her collarbone.

"I know they aren't as cool as yours, but I never was into the extremes, like gothic crosses or spider webs," Rhiana said and Abby smiled back at her.

"That's kinda cool, actually. So when did your brother get back?"

"About two weeks ago. A buddy of his usually takes care of Toby when Ben is out. But once Ben walks through that door, Toby's out like a rocket and in his truck. I've seen the destruction that little dog can cause trying to get to the truck before Ben. I'll miss him," Rhiana said and took a sip of her coffee as Gibbs came through the doors once again.

"McGee and Tony are looking for your brother's dog. They might be out for awhile if he was injured and wandered off," Gibbs said and handed Abby her Caf-POW drink. "Good work, Abs," he said and exited the lab once more. Rhiana raised a sleek eyebrow.

"Is he always like this?"

"That's Gibbs for you. He likes things simple."

"I noticed that earlier." Rhiana took another sip of her coffee as Abby continued her work.

----

"I can't believe this. This is your fault, McGeek," Tony complained as they followed a trail of blood into the woods.

"How can this be _my_ fault? I didn't murder Ben Stoller!" Tim argued as Tony smirked.

"One letter off…"

"What was that?"

"The name Stoller; one letter off from Stiller, kinda like Ben Stiller, the actor," Tony explained and McGee rubbed his temples.

"Let's just find this dog and get out of here," Tim said and spotted something. Following his gut, he led Tony on a wild goose chase as he got closer to what he saw. Kneeling beside a rotting log, he looked underneath it and saw Toby. Bringing out a camera, Tim snapped off a few shots before he reached to grab the collar. McGee lifted the still slightly warm body off the ground and out into the open where he took a few more pictures before gently placing the dog into a child's body bag that Tony had ready for him.

"Good eyes, McGee," Tony said and they both carried the body back towards their vehicle.

"Thank you, Tony," Tim said and DiNozzo gave him an odd look.

"For what?"

"For calling me _McGee_ instead of _McGeek_. Anyway, let's get this dog back to Ducky. It's still warm, so we should still get a DNA sample from him," Tim said and they headed back towards the morgue.

----

"What have you got for me this time, Tony?" Ducky asked and unzipped the body bag gently. He saw the fur even before he could ask anymore questions.

"This is Ben Stoller's Beagle, Toby. We think that the murdered struck the dog as well and we're wondering if he might have gotten a bite in before he was hit," Tim said and Ducky nodded.

"Of course," he said and the two agents left the morgue before Ducky could start the autopsy. "Let's see what you have to tell us, Toby. You know, one of my neighbors had a Beagle just like you. Tame as a kitten but ferocious when it came to the family, I hope you had just as much chance to protect yours," Ducky said as the elevator dinged again, revealing Gibbs.

"What do you have, Ducky?"

"DiNozzo and Timothy just dropped off the dog. He was struck at the base of the skull; a mild attempt compared to our CPO Stoller. It left him in a dazed state as he hemorrhaged slowly. The killer probably threw him into the woods, thinking he was dead," Ducky said and removed a piece of skin from between the dog's teeth. "And it seems he did get his vengeance," Ducky whispered and dropped the flesh into a Petri dish, "I'll send it to Abby once I'm done here, Jethro," the doctor said and Gibbs exited the lab and continued to Abby's.


	7. Chapter 7

NCIS

Entering the rock music plagued lab, Jethro paused the music and saw Abby working to isolate the dog blood from the victims. "Where's Rhiana?" he asked and Abby pointed to the very back room, where he saw Rhiana's head down on the table.

"She needs time to grieve, Gibbs. After I was left alone with her, her cool demeanor fell apart. I let her rest in the back room with some candles and incense… Gibbs!" Abby shouted as Jethro walked into the office and then the back room where Rhiana was napping, earbuds blaring music in her ears. Removing one gently, Gibbs shook Rhiana awake, noticing she didn't jump as she did around McGee.

"What is it, Agent Gibbs? Did they find who did it?" Rhiana asked sleepily and Gibbs smiled.

"Not yet, but they did find Toby. I need to know if there's anyone who would want to hurt Ben _and_ Toby," Gibbs requested and Rhiana was back to thinking hard.

"Well, when Ben was out, Toby would stay at John Holly's. There were a few disputes because John's girlfriend was mildly allergic, but nothing serious. Last I heard, they were still great friends," Rhiana said and Gibbs patted her shoulder.

"Thanks, Agent Stoller," Jethro said and Rhiana gently slammed her forehead back to the table as the door closed.

Walking past Abby, Palmer dropped off the piece of flesh Ducky had found. "Thanks Jimmy. Tell Ducky I said hi!" Abby said and Jimmy just waved as he exited the lab; Gibbs followed without a word as Abby turned her music back on.

----

Returning to his desk, Gibbs approached the flat screen. "McGee, get me anything on a John Holly!" he ordered and Tim began typing rapidly. A profile popped up and Ziva began reading what it said.

"Petty Officer Jonathan Holly, no real record besides a few calls about him being too rowdy at a bar, but that's pretty much normal. What's this have to do with anything?" Ziva asked and Gibbs looked at her.

"He was the one that took care of Toby while Ben was at sea. Agent Stoller told me that the two of them had an argument about Toby because John's girlfriend is allergic," Gibbs explained and grabbed his ID and gun from the familiar right hand drawer in his desk.

"Are we bringing him in, boss?" Tony asked and Gibbs shook his head.

"No, we're arresting him, DiNozzo. You're coming too, Ziva. McGee, go help Abby with the evidence from the dog," Gibbs ordered and the group scattered to their appropriate places. Jethro entered the elevator and hit the button for the garage, Ziva and Tony following quickly.

"This was over a dog?" Ziva asked and Gibbs frowned.

"I've seen people murdered for less," he said and exited the elevator. Picking an SUV, the three got in and made their way over to Petty Officer John Holly's house.

----

McGee exited the elevator and heard the rock music; Abby was in her happy place. Smirking, he entered the lab and immediately noticed that Rhiana wasn't in the lab with her. "Abby, where's Rhiana?" he asked and Abby flashed him a jealous and aggravated look. Pointing to the back room again, McGee looked towards where he had sat once, handcuffed to the table.

"Uhm, Abby, she's not back there," he said and Abby immediately snapped her eyes towards the back room.

"She was there a minute ago! Gibbs was just talking to her about some when Palmer brought me some evidence that Ducky found! Crap, I'm sorry Tim!" Abby was distraught, trying to figure out how Rhiana had gotten past her.

"Abby, I'm sure it's fine. She probably just went to the bathroom," Tim reassured and Ducky appeared on the screen.

"Are you there, Miss Sciuto?" the doctor asked.

"Duck, we've lost Rhiana! She was here a moment ago, but I seem to have misplaced her!" Abby said as McGee stopped the music so Ducky could hear Abby better.

"No need to worry yourself, dear. I saw her head down to the basement a few moments ago. I'm sure she's just catching up on some work that had been left undone," Ducky said and McGee patted Abby's shoulder.

"I'll go, you keep working on the evidence," Tim said and Abby nodded to him as he left the lab. Turning back to Ducky, she was now curious.

"What did you want, Ducky?" she asked and the doctor smiled.

"Did you have a chance to test that piece of skin for matches within the system?" Abby looked at something behind her.

"Not yet, it's still in the loop. I'm sure to get a result soon enough."

"Good, because I swabbed our dear Toby's mouth and found trace amounts of blood, however, I'm just not sure if it's his own or our murderers. Palmer should be bringing it up now," Ducky said and Abby smiled.

"I'll get right on it, Duck!" she said and closed the connection.


	8. Chapter 8

NCIS

McGee exited the elevator at the basement level and saw Rhiana sitting at her station among the various computers. Some of the other staff was there, so it made it slightly uncomfortable. "Rhiana, why did you come down here?" he asked and Rhiana looked up at him, tears streaming down her face.

"John did it, didn't he? He killed Ben and Toby?" she cried and almost crushed her poor coffee cup to pieces.

"We're not sure; Abby's testing some skin that Ducky found in Toby's mouth. Gibbs, Tony, and Ziva are headed over there now to bring him in for questioning. But why did you come _here_?" he asked gently and Rhiana sighed, glaring at her colleagues, sending them back to work.

"Because, it's quiet down here; it's also cooler, unlike that stuffy lab that Abby works in. I couldn't force myself into the morgue to visit Ducky, so I came to my happy place. Didn't you work down here once?" she asked and Tim half-smiled.

"Yeah, but the director transferred me back upstairs. Do you want to stay down here or go up to the waiting room?" Tim asked and smoothed a hand over Rhiana's shoulder.

"I don't think I could stand to see John's face, I'll stay down here. Thanks for the coffee, Tim," she smiled and turned back to her work station.

----

Gibbs knocked on the door, hoping to get an answer; his wishes were granted. "Jonathan Holly?" he asked and flashed his badge.

"Yeah, but call me John. What's the problem Agent Gibbs?" John asked and saw Tony and Ziva standing behind Jethro.

"Are you aware that your friend Chief Petty Officer Benjamin Stoller was murdered this morning?" Gibbs asked and John looked almost shocked.

"No, I had no idea! Is his sister okay? I knew she worked in the same building as you guys," John said and invited them in but the trio declined.

"We'd like to take you back for some questions," Gibbs said and John nodded.

"Of course, let me get my jacket," John said and went into the kitchen, where they heard the back door slam; Gibbs sighed.

"We got a runner; Ziva!" he shouted as he saw the Mossad agent was already around the side of the house. Tony and Gibbs followed closely.

"Federal Agent, stop!" they heard Ziva shout as she gained ground on John. The Navy officer was fast, but the lithe agent was slightly faster. Trying to scale a chain link fence that separated the base from the outside world, John felt a pain as Ziva dragged him to the ground, pinning him with her knee as she cuffed him.

"This could have been a lot easier," she huffed and stood John up as Tony and Gibbs caught up. Forcing John back towards the house, Jethro took John's other arm and saw him wince.

"I said we had some questions we'd like to ask, Officer Holly," Gibbs said and they loaded him into the SUV.

----

Hearing the elevator ding, McGee began to approach the trio when he saw there was a fourth person among them, handcuffed and led by Ziva towards the interrogation rooms. "Boss, what about…?" he began to ask when Abby appeared with the file he needed.

"The skin matched Officer Holly; so did the trace amounts of blood Ducky found in Toby's mouth. Is there anything else?" she asked and saw John being escorted to the questioning room. Tony broke off to greet McGee and Abby.

"Here's a tire iron and shirt. It has blood on it," Tony said simply and Abby looked at the evidence in her hands. Turning from McGee, she rushed back down to her lab to rush the positive ID tests. Tim followed Ziva and Tony into the observation room to watch Gibbs interview John about the murder. A few minutes of Gibbs stalking around, a call soon sprang McGee's phone to life.

"The blood matches both victims. Holly's fingerprints were all over the tire iron," Abby said and McGee nodded; Tony tapped the glass once and Gibbs began his interview.

----

"Why did you do it?' Gibbs asked simply; that set John off immediately.

"But I didn't do anything! You have no right to hold me here!" John shouted and Gibbs slammed a file down.

"Then why did you run?" Jethro growled back and John fell silent.

"I…" John started when he fell silent.

"We have evidence that you killed Ben Stoller and his dog Toby!"

"That stupid dog, I hated that damn thing," John growled and Jethro opened the file; it contained evidence photos. Spreading them out, Gibbs slid a picture of Toby lying on the ground dead towards John.

"Is this how you treat all your animals? By cracking them in the skull with a tire iron? We found the murder weapon in _your car_ at _your house_; it had both Ben and Toby's blood on it. Tell me, what set you off so bad that you would kill a dog?" Gibbs asked and John clenched his fists.

"My girlfriend is allergic; Toby was there so much Sherry didn't want to even stay over anymore. He was ruining _my_ life!" John said and Gibbs scoffed.

"You couldn't just tell Ben that? He does have a sister. I bet she wouldn't have minded taking him," Gibbs pointed out and gathered the photos back to him. "All you had to do was ask," Jethro said and left John alone in the interrogation room. McGee rushed first to his desk, grabbed a copy of _Deep Six_ and then ran to the elevator and pressed the button for the basement; the last Gibbs saw before the doors closed was McGee signing a book.


	9. Chapter 9

NCIS

"Rhiana… hey, Rhiana!" McGee shouted before the elevator doors finished opening; Agent Stoller looked up at his happy expression and had a confused look on her face as she stood from her seat. Tim rushed over and hugged her tightly. "We did it!" he whispered to her and Rhiana started crying.

"He confessed? John's going to jail for killing Ben and Toby?" Rhiana asked and felt Tim nod. Rhiana hugged him back and began to cry.

"Hey, hey, that expression is going to screw up my present," Tim said and Rhiana stopped hugging him for a moment.

"What present?" she asked and McGee brought out the copy of _Deep Six_ from behind his back. Rhiana looked up at him skeptically and opened the book to see 'Thom E. Gemcity' written elegantly on the inside cover of the book. "'To a good friend of mine'… Tim, you really shouldn't have!" Rhiana said and looked at McGee.

"He said it wasn't a problem. 'A friend of yours is a friend of mine.' That's what he said," Tim said and smiled at Rhiana, finally glad to see her happy. Rhiana hugged Tim tightly again and sighed as she let him go reluctantly.

"It looks like a long report to type. You better get started, Tim. I'll probably be here late too because I missed an entire day of updating our firewalls," Rhiana said and Tim laughed, placing a hand on her shoulder casually.

"They couldn't get past you even if they had years of practice," McGee said and waved good bye as he entered the elevator once more.

----

Tim exited on the floor that his station was at and he finally noticed that it was dark outside; had the case taken merely a day? Tony was finishing up reports and Ziva was leaving for the day. "I shall see you all tomorrow," Ziva said and waved good bye as Abby jingled past the desks.

"Wait for me! You can walk me to my car!" she called and joined Ziva as the Mossad liaison and Goth stepped into the elevator together. Gibbs, however, was no where to be found. Shrugging off the absence, McGee sat down at his desk and looked over at Tony.

"Have you seen Gibbs?' he asked and DiNozzo shrugged.

"Who knows, McGeek, he probably went home."

Tim raised an eyebrow, creating a joke of Tony's words.

"Yeah… you're right, he probably sleeps under his desk," Tony said and Jethro suddenly exited the elevator.

"_Who_ sleeps under his desk?" he asked and Tony jumped at the sudden accusation.

"My _dog_ Scruffy, he sleeps under my feet when I'm at home," Tony said, trying to make up for false information. Gibbs merely half-grinned and McGee noticed Jethro had two cups of coffee in his hands.

"A bit late for caffeine, don't you think boss?" McGee asked and Gibbs just smiled at him.

"Go home, McGee," he said simply, waiting on the elevator.

"But the report…"

"Go _home_, McGee," Gibbs said again and entered the elevator.

----

Pressing the button for the basement, Gibbs waited patiently as the box made its decent. Counting the floors, it stopped at the morgue; Ducky was waiting outside the doors. "Going up?" Ducky asked and Jethro shook his head.

"Basement, Duck," he said and Dr. Mallard merely smiled as he let the doors slide shut. Continuing one more floor down, Jethro stepped out of the elevator and saw everyone had left besides Rhiana, who was hard at work writing more code. Walking up to her, he set down one of the cups of coffee, gaining her attention as she pulled one of her earbuds out.

"What's this?"

"Black, with ¼ cup cream."

"But now I'll owe you…" Rhiana started and Gibbs raised his now free hand.

"It was the best three dollars I ever spent, Agent Stoller," Gibbs said and entered the elevator once more, seeing a spreading grin cross Rhiana's face as the doors closed.


End file.
